Conventional data collection networks, such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs), provide distributed monitoring using sensor nodes which typically aim to be low-cost and/or low-power. The geographical range of such networks may be limited and certain networks may employ multi-hop transmission over a number of nodes, such as in a mesh configuration. Some data collection systems sometimes face network impairment due to congestion at intermediate mesh nodes, disabled nodes and/or low signal-to-noise ratios. Certain conventional data collection networks also face increased costs due to the number of nodes deployed to support the network, specialized hardware to gather or process the data, and/or maintenance/upgrade of these remote nodes. In multiple industries including agriculture, weather prediction, disaster management and homeland security, real time collection of environmental data over wide areas is a key enabler. However, existing wireless technologies including mesh networks, cellular and satellite do not have the range or are cost prohibitive for pervasive monitoring applications.